New Bedford man who died in police custody had earlier run-in with officers

Thursday

Aug 25, 2011 at 12:01 AMOct 2, 2012 at 4:44 PM

Two months before he died in police custody last summer, Erick Aguilar threatened to shoot police officers who arrested him for suspected drunken driving, according to police reports.

BRIAN FRAGA and DAN MCDONALD

NEW BEDFORD — Two months before he died in police custody last summer, Erick Aguilar threatened to shoot police officers who arrested him for suspected drunken driving, according to police reports.

Aguilar, 42, of New Bedford, claimed to be a member of the MS-13 gang and threatened to retaliate against the two arresting officers, saying he would send gang members after them and that he wished he had a bullet for each of them, court records said.

The officers said Aguilar smelled of alcohol and appeared "very confused and possibly under the influence of drugs" when he crashed his pickup truck into a neighbor's vehicle, two mailboxes and a tree near his Townsend Street home on May 24, 2010.

Police said he failed a field sobriety test and was so combative that they had to use pepper spray to subdue him.

Two months later, on July 22, 2010, Aguilar died after going into cardiac arrest while he was handcuffed and lying on his stomach at a gas station parking lot at the corner of Ashley Boulevard and Nash Road.

A gas station attendant told The Standard-Times that Aguilar ran into the store, screaming for help and saying someone was trying to rob him. The attendant said Aguilar was agitated and appeared to be on drugs.

On Wednesday, New Bedford Police Chief David Provencher said he was not aware of the earlier incident, which resulted in Aguilar facing charges of disturbing the peace, assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and threats to commit a crime. The case was never disposed of and remains open in New Bedford District Court, records show.

Provencher declined to say whether that incident factored into the internal affairs investigation following Aguilar's death.

"I really don't want to get into what's in and not in the investigation," he said.

Mayor Scott W. Lang said there have been no allegations that animus between police and Aguilar factored into the incident.

A death certificate obtained this week by The Standard-Times lists "probable cardiac arrhythmia" as the immediate cause of Aguilar's death.

The Medical Examiner's Office described the death as accidental and said it was due to "acute intoxication due to combined effects of cocaine and ethanol in the setting of police restraint." Terrel Harris, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety, said he could not comment further on the medical examiner's findings.

The death certificate says "acute and chronic substance abuse" also was responsible for Aguilar's death.

An autopsy was conducted, but the Bristol County District Attorney's Office has not released those results, saying that prosecutors are wrapping up their inquiry into the incident.

The Police Department conducted an internal affairs investigation and has submitted disciplinary recommendations to the mayor's office. Lang said hearings regarding the incident are still "a couple months out."

Four city government sources have said several members of New Bedford's police ranks have been notified of disciplinary hearings regarding the incident. The sources say the recommended punishments range from suspensions without pay to termination. One policeman may be demoted and more than one could be looking at a year-long suspension, sources said. One officer could be fired and others could be looking at less severe suspensions, according to the sources.

Reached Wednesday, Provencher, as he has in the past, declined to detail how many police are involved in the internal fallout from Aguilar's death. Nor did he specify ranks, names, or specific disciplinary recommendations.

"My answer hasn't changed," he said to a series of questions.

Meanwhile, more information about Aguilar's past has come to light.

Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Aguilar immigrated to the United States. He lived with family in New York City before moving to Massachusetts about 10 years ago. Public records say he lived in New Bedford with a girlfriend and worked as a truck driver and landscaper.

Officials did not release Aguilar's name until last week. Provencher said he had "no idea" why it took authorities a year to release the name.

"I was under the impression it had been released," said Provencher, adding that once State Police from the Bristol County District Attorney's office began their investigation into the incident, New Bedford Police then had "no control over the information flow."

In addition to the May 2010 incident, Aguilar had other run-ins with law enforcement.

In August 2007, police said he yelled and swore at officers investigating a shooting on Deane Street and Ashley Boulevard. He was angry that the officers had blocked off traffic. Once cuffed, he said his arrest was racially motivated, according to court records.

Provencher said he did not know whether Aguilar was a habitual drug user, whether he was affiliated with MS-13 or any other gang, or whether he was a person who was well known to local police before his death.

Gordon Duke, executive director of Organizacion Maya K'iche, a Guatemalan community resource center, has criticized the police's handling of the investigation. He has called for a federal probe into the incident, which he said highlights long-running concerns over public safety and police mistrust within the Guatemalan community.

"Here's a guy who was robbed, then he's handcuffed and dies in police custody. That is just plain and simply wrong," Duke said.